The JF is also hosting a party in Stoke this evening to celebrate the work of the man who runs Pits n Pots, Mike Rawlins.

And a 16-page tabloid print edition, produced along with media students from Staffordshire university, will be distributed to the city's households next month in order to publicise the venture.

Pits n Pots was originally launched by Rawlins in September 2008 because he believed local papers, which were losing sales, were also failing to cover local politics adequately.

The site has broken stories that have made national press headlines, such as a February 2009 posting about the British National Party's use of second world war imagery - a picture of a Spitfire from a Polish squadron - during the election campaign.

Simon Kelner, the foundation's chief executive, said: "We're delighted to support the relaunch of Pits n Pots, a website which we feel fulfils an important function in the political life of Stoke-on-Trent...

"Websites such as this are proliferating throughout the country, helping to increase engagement in local politics and demonstrating that journalism is a fundamental part of democracy."

Rawlins has also written a chapter in a new book, What do we mean by local?* that was launched at a seminar last night at Coventry university's London campus.

In his chapter, he writes that his website was set up "to fill a gap in the market. "The more mainstream media were not fulfilling their duties of holding power to account as well they might."

Two other online start-ups were represented at the seminar - Tom O'Brien, founder of My Muswell, and Ross Hawkes, the founder of Lichfield Live. Like Rawlins, both pointed to failings by traditional media as the spur to their launches.

The reason for those market gaps having opened up - the decline of regional and local papers - was explained by Neil Fowler, now of Nuffield college and formerly a regional newspaper editor, and Chris Oakley, the former chief executive of a regional group.

The event was chaired by Ian Reeves, the ex-editor of Press Gazette who is now at Kent university.

Sources: Journalism Foundation/Personal knowledge/ *What do we mean by local? is edited by John Mair, Neil Fowler and Ian Reeves and published by Abramis at £17.95